Thursday

Teacher’s strike. Four children at home.8.30 appointment with ENT to remove splint from Oscar’s nose.Meltdown?You bet.Comment to me as we left the ENT’s tiny room?“You poor sod”.I thought I looked OK – I’d changed my shirt from the one covered in Grover’s breakfast, blow-dried my hair and got four children out of the house and to his rooms on time.Onto local shopping centre.Three boys for haircuts.First – Felix – an angel.He looks hot.For an eight year old.Oscar and Jasper occupied at pet shop window across the waySecond – Oscar.Meltdown?You bet.Felix and Jasper raise hell playing chasing and tackling outside the shop and, as Felix tells me later, inside other stores.Third – Jasper – an angel.He looks adorable.As two and a half year olds should.Oscar and Felix play their Nintendos.Then on to get an icecream.Detour to shoe shop for new sneakers for Oscar to wear when he’s not wearing his superlegs.Useless shop assistant.None in Oscar’s size.Felix and Jasper amuse themselves on a Bob the Builder ride.The lady not there at the ice cream shop.Back in two minutes says the sign.Five minutes pass.We go to Kmart because the ‘laydee gawn to toylet’ according to Jasper.Find hideous sneaker type shoes for Oscar that 10 year olds love and parents hate.They’re two sizes bigger than the sneakers he’s been wearing.Maybe that limp hasn’t been related to his CP but being crippled by negligent parenting.Boys choose slurpee over ice cream.Jasper has one sip, says it’s spicy. I get him an ice cream instead because now? I’m all about picking my battles.But then he consumes his ice cream and his slurpee.The kid is cunning.Bump into old next door neighbour and catch-up on our various dramas.Turns out her father had an affair and now has a two year old with the mistress but is still staying with her mother rather than at his house with the mistress and child.Everyone has their dramas.Into Woollies to get some bits and pieces for lunch and dinner.Three of my children have simultaneous meltdowns while waiting in a large crowd to get a bbq chook.Onward.Everyone gets a treat regardless of behaviour.Picking battles or the new pushover.All to the car.Grover – who’s been in the stroller through all these adventures is of course now asleep.Everyone home.Early lunch.Grover back to bed.Jasper falls asleep on the lounge.Oscar plays more pro devolution soccerFelix addicted to his Nintendo DSI retire to our bedroom to watch some Oprah.Boring episode about some cougar single mother who is a stripper.Grover up.Take big boys to swimming lesson.Bump into the mother of four girls I met in the carpark at swimming (for Jasper) yesterday.Catch up with mother of boy who went to early-ed with Oscar when they were about 2.She has two boys with Fragile X.They didn’t know she was a carrier as her mother had only had girls.Everyone has their dramas.Boys swim like champs.Felix’s butterfly is impressive.Oscar is so excited to be back in the pool.Home.AB home.Dinner.Mucking around.Bed.